Overview and History of the Comet System

Overview

For many years, Comet has been
recognized as a top-performing system for business and commercial software
applications. The words are repeated again and again. Solid. Reliable. Fast.
Flexible. Efficient. Dependable.

But, what is Comet? Simply stated,
Comet is an exceptionally versatile computing environment for business and web
applications. Some might refer to Comet as an “application server.” Designed
for Windows PC’s as well as Microsoft and Novell networks, Comet includes a
multi-tasking runtime component and a high-speed database engine. It certainly
makes sense, then, that Comet serves as the platform for a large library of
established software applications.

Comet is very flexible. It can run
as a standalone system, in a local area network, in a wide area network, and on
the Internet. One of Comet’s notable strengths is its remote application
processing, which is accomplished with CometAnywhere and/or eComet.

In a network setting, Comet is a
true client-server system, offering software for the file server as well as the
individual client nodes. The current client-side product, Comet2002, runs on
Windows PC’s (including Windows XP). Signature currently offers two current
server-side products: CometServe32 runs on Windows servers and CometServeNLM runs
on Netware servers.

Comet is also a respected software
development platform. Application programming for the Comet environment, for
packaged applications as well as customized systems, is done using Signature’s
Internet Basic compiler language. Database exploration and reporting is
enhanced with two powerful tools. The Reporter is a report program generator,
and C•VIEW is an advanced data mining tool. To assist in the configuration and
management of a Comet system, Comet includes a full suite of utility programs.

A Bit of History

In the early 1980’s, the founders
of Signature Systems began to develop system software for personal computers.
Their goal was to create a true multi-tasking, multi-user system that would run
in conjunction with Microsoft’s Disk Operating System (DOS). This was an
ambitious project, considering that at the time, such systems were available
predominantly on larger, vastly more expensive minicomputer platforms.

Soon, Signature unveiled the first
version of Comet, which included both software and hardware products. The
software component was a multitasking runtime system that could support both
foreground and background processing tasks (up to 100 per system). The hardware
component was a terminal adapter board that connected multiple data entry
terminals to the PC. Imagine an Intel 386 machine with 40 terminals connected
to it and you’ve got the picture.

Signature effectively brought
minicomputer-level technology to the personal computer. In fact, many of the early
Comet users were former minicomputer users themselves. This was the era of
downsizing, and Comet was more than ready for the task. New Comet users were
often surprised at how fast Comet was. Tasks that had taken hours to complete
on their minicomputer were being finished in minutes on a Comet-based PC.

Networking and Beyond

As local area network technology
emerged in the mid-90’s, Signature Systems added the appropriate features to
Comet. Porting Comet’s database engine to a Novell server created Signature’s
first client-server product, CometServeNLM. Later, Comet’s database engine was
ported to the Microsoft networking platform, and CometServe32 was born. By this
point, it was obvious that the multi-user nature of a Comet system was being
accomplished with multiple nodes on a network rather than data entry terminals,
and the terminal adapter board was discontinued.

Signature then built a new version
of the Comet runtime system based on the Microsoft 32-bit Windows standards.
Comet2002 supports earlier Comet applications (including the ones that were
ported from the minicomputer world), foreground and background processing (up
to 100 tasks per system), and also includes GUI programming features such as:

·dialog boxes

·windows

·radio buttons

·check boxes

·list boxes

·edit controls

·picture pushbuttons

·bitmap images

·tree controls

·tab controls

·sound

·pop-up menus

·toolbars

·keyboard accelerators

·graphical printing features

Signature has always recognized
the value of remote application processing. The company’s CometAnywhere
software was built to run existing Comet programs, without modification, over
wide area networks and the Internet. This is an ideal way to run
business-to-business and intranet applications.

Extending the Comet Product Line

Signature developed Comet2000 and
Comet2002 to enhance the links between Comet applications and Internet
services. The base level includes the Winsock gateway, which provides the power
for Comet programs to communicate using any Internet protocol. The most common
example is Comet applications that send e-mail via the Simple Mail Transport
Protocol (SMTP).

The base level also includes the Comet Fax
Driver, a software gateway that lets a Comet application program send a fax
via an internal Class 1, 2, or 2.0 fax/modem.

For web-based applications, such
as business-to-consumer and e-commerce systems, Signature created its
patent-pending eXtended Active Pages
(XAP) technology and the eComet
Extensions. An eComet host system runs multiple concurrent XAP programs,
communicates with web browsers, and can access to the organization’s Comet
database. In short, eComet is a complete Internet application server.

In the database arena, the Comet ODBC Client
Gateway provides the power for Comet applications to access databases that
are compatible with the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) standard. For
example, Internet Basic programs can read and write data in Microsoft Access
databases, SQL Server databases, and other ODBC data sources. This gateway
offers excellent expansion opportunities for existing Comet applications as
well as eComet applications.

The Comet Serial
Gateway is a software extension that lets a Comet application program
communicate with an external serial device via the PC’s serial port.

Signature Systems continues to
develop system software for emerging platforms and applications. The Comet
runtime system now supports up to 999 tasks per system. The Internet Basic
language continues to evolve to meet the needs of the worldwide group of Comet
application developers. The Comet database engines and interfaces continue to
be enhanced, and the Comet runtime system is being expanded for the application
needs of future Comet users.